Making sure you understand and holistically manage your health.

When most people hear the word “health”, they think about the physical kind: calories consumed, the treadmill, cholesterol levels and what not. However, health extends beyond simple physicality and should be thought of holistically across multiple important dimensions. The most important ones are (in no particular order): physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, financial, social, and intellectual.
“Why are all health dimensions important? Because if any one component drops significantly, your overall well-being can be impacted whether consciously or more dangerously, unconsciously.”
Why are all health dimensions important? Because if any one component drops significantly, your overall well-being can be impacted whether consciously or more dangerously, unconsciously. For example, I’ve noticed this too often amongst friends who tend to prioritize their careers which increases financial and intellectual health but often leads to long isolated hours which destroys physical, emotional, spiritual, and social health.
Different seasons in life may force you to prioritize certain dimensions over others. If you just had a child, perhaps you do not have bandwidth to socialize with friends and hence your “social health” deteriorates. That may be okay in the short run, but it’s important to be conscious about this and design ways to balance all the dimensions. If you go too long ignoring a critically low health dimension, it will start impairing you overall to the extent you may be unable to function normally.
The best way I have found to maintain holistic balance is to periodically and purposefully revisit your health dimensions, ideally through a period of reflection at least once a week. Take an honest look at yourself and how you are doing in each. If there are any that are critically low, create a plan to figure out how you can bring that level back up. Some more examples of holistic health and how to think about it are included here: //www.tbase.me/4-holistic-health
Comments